16 things the food industry doesn't want you to know about sugar

Published 6:39 pm, Wednesday, May 21, 2014

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16. The average American eats 152 pounds of sugar in a year. (Argentina is a distant second at about 105 pounds per capita.) In 1973, South African diabetes specialist George Campbell suggested that anything more than 70 pounds per person per year would spark epidemics. (Mother Jones "Sugar Industry Lies.") To reach that mark, we would have to cut our sugar intake by more than half. (Diamond Sky Images/Getty Images)

16. The average American eats 152 pounds of sugar in a year. (Argentina is a distant second at about 105 pounds per capita.) In 1973, South African diabetes specialist George Campbell suggested that anything

15. Within two decades, 90 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese, according to "Fed Up." Health care costs and insurance premiums will rise with the increase in obesity-related diseases.

15. Within two decades, 90 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese, according to "Fed Up." Health care costs and insurance premiums will rise with the increase in obesity-related diseases.

Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth, Associated Press

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14. By 2050, one of three Americans will have diabetes, "Fed Up" estimates. Virtually unknown in children two decades ago, Type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) now strikes U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency. less

14. By 2050, one of three Americans will have diabetes, "Fed Up" estimates. Virtually unknown in children two decades ago, Type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) now strikes U.S. ... more

Photo: Reed Saxon, Associated Press

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13. Sugar is eight times as addictive as cocaine, says Dr. Mark Hyman, founder and medical director of the UltraWellness Center. UCSF's Dr. Robert Lustig explains: "In the (brain's) reward center, sugar stimulates the neurotransmitter dopamine, and dopamine drives reward. But dopamine also down-regulates its own receptor (which generates the reward signal). This means the next time round, you’re going to need more sugar to generate more dopamine to generate less reward, and so on, until you’re consuming a whole lot of sugar, and getting almost nothing for it. That’s tolerance." less

12. 'Eating bigger portions is just as bad as sugar.' WRONG!
"In a study of 154 countries that looked at the correlation of
calories, sugar, and diabetes, scientists found that adding 150 calories
a day to the diet barely raised the risk of diabetes in the population,
but if those 150 calories came from soda, the risk of diabetes went up
by 700 percent." - Dr. Mark Hyman in the Huffington Post. less

12. 'Eating bigger portions is just as bad as sugar.' WRONG! "In a study of 154 countries that looked at the correlation of calories, sugar, and diabetes, scientists found that adding 150 calories a day ... more

Photo: Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press

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11. More than three out of every four food items available in American supermarkets are spiked with added sugar. Why do food companies add excess sugar to processed foods? Because they know that when they add it, we buy more, says Dr. Lustig, author of "Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease." less

11. More than three out of every four food items available in American supermarkets are spiked with added sugar. Why do food companies add excess sugar to processed foods? Because they know that when they add ... more

Photo: Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images

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10. The government chooses farm jobs over the health of its citizens: The MyPlate (and before that, MyPyramid) nutritional guidelines are provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the agency's main purpose is support, oversee and subsidize the nation's agricultural industry. That's a conflict you could drive a tractor through. (Scott Olson/Getty Images News)

10. The government chooses farm jobs over the health of its citizens: The MyPlate (and before that, MyPyramid) nutritional guidelines are provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the agency's main

9. Many politicians couldn't care less about your health: Some are in Big Agriculture's pocket. Others see regulation as nanny government or hurting business in general. Here, Sarah Palin sips a Big Gulp while mocking New York's soda law banning super-sized soft drinks. (Photo by Douglas Graham for CQ-Roll Call Group/Getty Images.)

9. Many politicians couldn't care less about your health: Some are in Big Agriculture's pocket. Others see regulation as nanny government or hurting business in general. Here, Sarah Palin sips a Big Gulp while

7. Foods we consider to be good for us often aren't: Yogurt is healthy, right? Not when yogurt makers add sweeteners and fruit syrups. Example: A 6-ounce cup of Yoplait Original 99% fat free, Lemon Burst has nearly 8 teaspoons of sugar. Chobani (shown) is healthier, but still adds 5 teaspoons per 6 ounces.

7. Foods we consider to be good for us often aren't: Yogurt is healthy, right? Not when yogurt makers add sweeteners and fruit syrups. Example: A 6-ounce cup of Yoplait Original 99% fat free, Lemon Burst has

6. Guess who's defending the food industry's right to use cute characters to market sugar-laden foods to kids? Legislation tried to ban the practice in 2011, but House Republicans wouldn't stand for such an assault on Tony the Tiger.

6. Guess who's defending the food industry's right to use cute characters to market sugar-laden foods to kids? Legislation tried to ban the practice in 2011, but House Republicans wouldn't stand for such an

5. What about diet sodas? They're harmless, right? Some research indicates artificial sweeteners may leave you craving more sugar.

5. What about diet sodas? They're harmless, right? Some research indicates artificial sweeteners may leave you craving more sugar.

Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images

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4. Money buys 'research': For decades Big Sugar has been thwarting efforts by medical doctors and scientists to label sugar as a health threat. In the late 1960s, for example, sugar companies viewed diet drinks as the enemy and tried to link cyclamates (a popular sugar substitute at the time) to cancer based on a single study of rats. The FDA banned cyclamates, but the rat study was later found to be not relevant to humans. Today, soft drink makers and other food companies are still hiring so-called scientific experts to back their claims that their products are harmless. On Dr. Robert Lustig's Wikipedia page, most of the studies cited there to repudiate his views were funded by Coca-Cola.

4. Money buys 'research': For decades Big Sugar has been thwarting efforts by medical doctors and scientists to label sugar as a health threat. In the late 1960s, for example, sugar companies viewed diet drinks

3. We get fatter when the fat is removed: When food manufactures reduced the fat in products like this cookie, they replaced it with more sugar. Many foods marketed as "low-fat" may contain more than twice the amount of sugar as "regular" versions. less

3. We get fatter when the fat is removed: When food manufactures reduced the fat in products like this cookie, they replaced it with more sugar. Many foods marketed as "low-fat" may contain more than twice the ... more

Photo: PRWeb

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2. Sugar hides where we don't expect it: Ketchups can be 23 percent sugar and salad dressings 29 percent. Most fruit roll-ups are 50 percent sugar. A half cup of Newman’s Own Tomato & Basil sauce has about 3 teaspoons of sugar. less

2. Sugar hides where we don't expect it: Ketchups can be 23 percent sugar and salad dressings 29 percent. Most fruit roll-ups are 50 percent sugar. A half cup of Newman’s Own Tomato & Basil sauce has ... more

Photo: Toby Talbot, Associated Press

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1. Listen to your cardiologist: The American Heart Association recommends a reduction in sugar consumption from our current 22 teaspoons per day (teens consume 34 teaspoons) to six for women and nine for men.

1. Listen to your cardiologist: The American Heart Association recommends a reduction in sugar consumption from our current 22 teaspoons per day (teens consume 34 teaspoons) to six for women and nine for men.

Photo: Scott Eells, Getty Images

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16 things the food industry doesn't want you to know about sugar

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Spoiler alert -- the bad guy in "Fed Up," Katie Couric's new film on America's obesity epidemic, is sugar. But it's not the only villain.

The messages of the documentary, co-produced by Couric and "Inconvenient Truth" producer Laurie David, are sobering, to say the least:

1) Thanks to the pervasive addition of sugar to food products, we're turning into a nation of blimps.

2) Our children will be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than the generation that preceded it.

3) And it's not even our fault.

"Fed Up" argues that the inclusion of sugar in processed foods is a calculated strategy by food companies aimed at inducing us to buy more sugary foods.